Week 12 of the college football season is here. There are just a few weeks left of the regular season, and conference title races are heating up. Some teams can afford to not win their conference as they can get an at-large bid into the College Football Playoff. Others cannot, and they need that automatic bid. One team that is in a good position to make both their conference title game and the College Football Playoff is Texas. The Longhorns are led by quarterback Quinn Ewers, and they have a sneaky tough road game against Arkansas this weekend.
The Texas football team is currently ranked #3 in the country and if they can win out they will definitely make the playoff, but they will also have a chance at a bye as they will head to the SEC title game. The Longhorns are currently the highest ranked team in the SEC.
Arkansas is currently fighting for a bowl game as they are 5-4 on the year, and getting win number six against the #3 team in the country at home would make this season feel a lot better.
Before we talk more about Quinn Ewers and his predictions for this matchup, let’s take a deeper look at both of these teams.
Arkansas is looking to play spoiler
The Arkansas football team is obviously not in the running to make the SEC title game or the College Football Playoff, but they still have a lot to play for. Obviously, making a bowl game is the goal now as they just need one more win, but if they can somehow manage to win out, they would finish with a very respectable 8-4 record. Not only would the Razorbacks be bowl eligible, but they would get a pretty decent bid with that record.
Arkansas wants to get a bowl game, and they also want to play spoiler along the way. They have already pulled off a big upset at home this year against Ole Miss, and they want to do it again. They have that opportunity this weekend against Texas.
Beating Texas obviously won’t be easy, but the Razorbacks are capable of pulling off big upsets. They have done it before, and they can do it again. Texas really hasn’t played a lot of tough teams on the road this year, and this could end up being a challenging game for them.
Texas is looking to win the SEC in year 1
This is the first season that the Texas football team has been in the SEC, and they are currently in good shape to make the conference championship game. The Longhorns did lose to Georgia a couple weeks ago, but the Bulldogs now have two conference losses and Texas has just the one.
Texas has three games left on the schedule as they have this road game against Arkansas, and then they will host Kentucky before ending the season with a crucial road game against Texas A&M. Both teams currently have one conference loss and that game could very well be for a spot in the SEC title game.
Right now, the Longhorns need to just take things one week at a time and stay focused on this weekend’s matchup against Arkansas. Like we have talked about, the Razorbacks are a solid team and they are capable of pulling off a big upset. Texas needs to play a good game to get a win this weekend.
It all starts with the quarterback, Quinn Ewers, for the Texas football team. Ewers is one of the best QBs in the country, and when he plays well, Texas is a very tough team to beat. Here are three predictions for his performance on Saturday:
Quinn Ewers will be held to under 200 yards
When the Texas football team lost a few weeks ago against Georgia, Quinn Ewers didn’t have a very good game. Georgia QB Carson Beck threw three interceptions, yet the Bulldogs were still able to win by two scores on the road. Ewers has to play well this weekend, but this Arkansas defense and road environment will be tough. Ewers is going to struggle a little bit.
Quinn Ewers will throw 2 interceptions
If the Arkansas football team is going to pull off this upset, they need to take care of the football and they need to force Quinn Ewers into some mistakes. They have to win the turnover battle by at least two, and they will get the opportunity by forcing Ewers into a couple picks. This will give the Razorbacks a chance to pull off the upset, especially if they can play turnover free football.
Quinn Ewers and Texas will lose
With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, we all know there is going to be a lot of chaos down the stretch. That’s what happens in college football. A lot of people right now are acting like they know how every hypothetical matchup would go. When you’re confident in college football, you’re usually wrong, especially this time of year. Everyone expects Texas to win this game, and everyone views Texas as the SEC College Football Playoff lock. That feels too simple. Arkansas will pull off the upset and add to the chaos.
Texas and Arkansas will kick off from Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville at noon ET on Saturday, and the game will be airing on ABC. The Longhorns are currently favored by 13.5 points.
Week 12 college football preview
There are a lot of important games to pay attention to this weekend that will shape conference title and College Football Playoff races. This Texas-Arkansas game is one of them, and here are some other good matchups to watch during week 12.
ESPN’s College GameDay will be heading to Athens this weekend for a huge matchup in the SEC. Georgia is hosting Tennessee, and whoever loses this one is probably going to be in for a very nerve-wracking selection show.
In the ACC, there is really one big game to pay attention to. # 20 Clemson will be hitting the road to take on 7-2 Pitt. The Tigers are currently in second place in the ACC and they need a win if they want to stay on pace to make the ACC title game.
The Big 12 has a few big ones this weekend as their conference title race is shaping up to have an exciting finish. Colorado currently controls their own destiny and they will look to improve to 8-2 this weekend against Utah. Both Arizona State and Kansas State are sitting at 7-2 right now, and they will play in Manhattan this weekend. Lastly, BYU looks to stay perfect at home against Kansas. The Jayhawks are 3-6, but they could very easily be right in the thick of this Big 12 race. That is expected to be a close game.
Moving over to the Big Ten, it’s a very quiet week. The biggest matchup will take place under the lights in Madison as #1 Oregon will look to stay perfect against a Wisconsin team hungry for an upset.
Lastly, the SEC has a few big ones this weekend. We have already talked about Texas-Arkansas and Tennessee-Georgia, but Missouri and South Carolina will also square off in a top-25 matchup that should provide a lot of excitement.
This is a crucial week of college football, and things could start getting crazy. Buckle up and enjoy the ride.
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